1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of smart mobile devices and their associated controls.
2. Description of the Related Art
Handheld electronic devices (e.g., smartphones, or cell phones) typically have at least one built-in camera for capturing still images or video. There are also applications made for handheld electronic device applications that are available today. Examples of such applications that use a camera include FaceTime™, and Remote Camera™. However, unlike other operating system level functions of these handheld electronic devices, such as speaker and sound controls or accelerometer activity controls, the camera function is not currently separately controlled in the operating system (OS) settings function of such devices. Because the camera function is not separately controlled in the OS settings function, user-controlled settings for the camera function are currently limited. For example, there is no local security setting to ensure that the camera(s) is turned off. In another example, there is no mechanism to automatically turn a camera on in response to a real-time event or 3rd party application. In yet another example, there is no mechanism to systematically cross the camera function with other OS functions or other application functions. In yet another example, there is no mechanism to allow a 3rd party to remotely access the camera.
There is, therefore, a need in the art for new systems and methods for managing the camera functions of an electronic device such as a smartphone.